Final Spark
by ZocoLP
Summary: Garen has never been assigned a mission so difficult, let alone heart-wrenching as Lux is with him enduring the pain they are going to face together. There is an evil from long ago that now has come back to wreck havoc across Valoran. How will they be able to stop this, and how will their bonds with each other and their new friends be affected? NOTE: Not lore based!
1. Prologue

10 years ago

What seemed to be only a mere rainy night in the land of Demacia was not as it was heard of. The sound of the rain hitting ground and the sound of rain hitting trees. The sound of wind tearing trees and wind gusting. The sound of wind and rain both hitting flesh. Flesh that did not only show itself but did shed blood. On this rainy night there was a fight between two very formidable foes. Rivals, they were. Rivals of two opposing city countries, Demacia and Noxus, whom who they've been at war with each other for quite some time. Within mist there they were, fighting amongst themselves. One wielded a large sword, the other holstered a wide assortment of knives and daggers. They both battled for their country. They both battled for honor. Fresh blood drew in the air as they battled each other, while in the end only one could survive this epic duel. The battle seemed to be never ending, each of them fatigued in the heart of the cold air. However the battle was drawing to a close. With scars reigning across her face and dagger countless scratches in his armor, the burly warrior seemed to be breaking down. He could not handle anymore of this battle. Wounded now the girl had found an opportunity to strike. With one quick slash she found now blood of the other mans face lying upon her face. Her foe was on the ground, kneeling in a defeated state. The girl stood above him, waiting to see if the warrior was going to move anymore, but he didn't. As she soon realized this she moved to make a final strike.

"Brother!" a voice called out from the trees that surrounded them.

"Sister!" the burly warrior on the ground called out.

Suddenly emerging from the trees was a young girl. She seemed to be only in her teenage years, wearing a beautiful white dress that was getting seemingly torn in the heavy winds. Her blonde hair waving in the winds, and her slim figure made her stand out from anyone else. As soon as she emerged she noticed the burly warrior on the ground kneeling before the woman who was holding a dagger only inches away from his face.

"Brother!" This time she was screaming in agony. "Fight back, fight back!"

"I cannot do such a thing, I…" he hesitated. "I have met my match".

He now turned back to the women that would soon kill him.

"Finish me." he said.

"NO! Stand up and fight!" The sister ran towards him, crying for dear life, streams of tears flowing down her cheeks. She tried to help the brother back up, this time literally dragging him upwards, but the brother would not comply with her actions. This time the sister faced the women that was about to kill him.

"Please, I…I beg of you" she pleaded.

Something about this shot the women in the heart. For a Noxan, this type of emotion does not happen often, and Noxan assassins are trained not to feel emotion. This however took the assassin by surprise. She did not expect a sister to come out and plead for her brothers life. She has never been caught in this type of situation, nor did she expect this situation to come through fighting her rival.

She dropped her dagger.

"No, do it! if I am to die I want it to be an honorable death! Even if it means falling to the hands of you" said the warrior.

"I don't know what I see anymore warrior" replied the women "The only thing that I do see is people who care for you." she said looking over towards the sister. "I am only sparing your life just this once… next time however, you better not screw up."

She began to walk away. Once she was far enough away, she kneeled to the ground.

"Until we meet again, Garen" and with that she disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.

The field was met with silence. The rain began to stop and the clouds began to disperse giving way to sunlight. The winds began to slowly calm down, and animals and birds came out of their hiding places to enjoy the newly exposed sunlight.

Garen broke the silence "Until we meet again… Katarina."

And with that he woke up.


	2. Chapter 1: Dark Light

**This is the official start of the story :D! As always feedback is appreciated.**

* * *

Present

He woke. Not only did he just realize that he was dreaming but he remembered that he was dreaming about his past. That is something that Garen did not feel comfortable with, especially dreaming about the aspects of that night.

"Why?" He thought to himself for a while. "Why did she let me live that night?"

Though he did not come to a conclusion for these questions, he knew that he was certainly glad that he was still living.

Garen, the Might of Demacia, as people on the streets may call him. Although he knew that he was respected amongst almost everyone in Demacia he does not consider himself the true strength of Demacia. He knew that the true strength of Demacia was its people, and the people is what give him his strength and will to continue forward. This is the reason why Garen didn't ponder his questions any longer than he did.

He raised himself off of his bed and looked around his room. Garen's room is very simple, it had all of the necessary equipment along with his personal items. These included his signature armor and sword that he wears to the Field of Justice anytime a summoner chooses to summon him in aid for a battle. While wise it was for him to wear this armor every time he went out, he decides to wear normal civilian clothes for the road, and equip his armor once he was at the kings palace. Once Garen entered the streets of Demacia, he was greeted with a roar of hellos from the citizens that passed. Garen always responded to them, whether it be him saying hello back or giving them just a friendly smile. The streets of Demacia are full of various wonders, whether it be House Vayne or Sona's Palace of Music. All of which are very popular attractions amongst Demacians. However most of Garen's time is spent as a soldier in the Demacian military.

The Demacian military is easily one of the strongest military branches in all of Valoran. The other strongest however happened to be their rival country, Noxus, who use much more brutal tactics of dispatching their foes than other countries do. Demacia has a more civilized approach on ruling over a city. Even still, Demacia is the most successful city state in all of Valoran; they have relationships with almost every city in Valoran: Piltover, Bandle City, you name it.

Garen slowly walked over to the training ground that his unit practiced on. Garen is the leader of the mighty Dauntless Vanguards, one of the most prestigious units in the Demacian military. They never faltered, they never gave up, they would never run from a fight nor would they surrender, and with this perseverance gave them their title. On the training grounds he found his men in their normal routine. Garen's men were always training, day in day out.

"9, 10, 11, 12… Good. Everyones here." Garen said as he counted his men.

"13… wait, 13?" Garen had spotted someone else on the training grounds that is not in his squad, but he had only known her too well.

"Lux, what are you doing here?" Garen yelled out.

Lux turned around in surprise, as she didn't notice Garen walk in. Lux is Garen's sister, and she is the only thing in the world Garen cares more about then Demacia. She wore a beautiful white dress that one could not miss, however sometimes it seemed that she can hide in plain sight when the lights are off, even with her shining dress. Lux always carried around her signature white baton that made people recognize her as symbolic to Demacia. Not only this though, she has been using it much more for dance lately. Garen always liked watching her sister dance. She has always said that she wanted to dance since she was a little girl. Since then Garen has watched her grow over the years to be a bigger and better dancer.

"Oh hi Big Bro" Lux said walking up to him. "Are these your men? I never knew that you came here to train."

"Yes, we have been training here for a while actually…" Garen said with a slight pause at the end. Did she know that these are the training grounds?

"Oh, well I didn't know that. I was talking to my dance teacher and she said if I needed to practice I could come here."

Odd, Garen thought. Didn't the dance teacher know that this is restricted military grounds. My men would've stopped her from entering if they didn't know that Lux was my sister.

"You've been practicing dance a lot more lately, is there some sort of special occasion that is coming up? Garen asked.

"Well there might." Lux looked away, slightly blushing.

Garen noticed this. "Oh, I see. So…" he hesitated "...whos the special one?"

Lux turned around this time not with a blush but with an annoyed look and a hand that promptly smacked Garen's face.

"I didn't mean it like THAT!" she yelled out. Some of Garen's men were looking over and laughing at him.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I only say these things for your protection you know?"

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry for hitting you." she apologized, still having an annoyed look on her face.

The two sat there for a while in a slight silence, observing Garen's men during their fifth hour of training.

"So do you want to know why I've been training a lot lately?" she asked.

"Yes"

Lux leaned over towards Garen, about to whisper in his ear. "I'm dancing for one of Jarvan's parties."

These words shocked Garen. Garen knew Jarvan very well, almost like brothers. Him and Jarvan had been on many missions together before Jarvan was crowned as the prince of Demacia. After that Jarvan had spent much of his time in meetings and debates about politics and the betterment of Demacia. Jarvan was definitely worthy of his title.

Garen stared at Lux for a moment, mainly out of shock. Soon he cracked a smile.

"Lux" he said "I'm proud of you. You do know it is a huge honor to even attend one of Jarvan's parties, let alone dance at it."

"Aww." she began to blush. "I'm not that good am I?"

"Of course you are, I think you are." Garen hugged her sister, blushing even harder. They sat there in silence for a while, continueing to watch the men training.

"Well, you probably get it from me." Garen said quietly with a smirk.

"Shutup"

"Garen!"

A voice from the entrance of the training grounds called. To their surprise it was Jarvan.

"Jarvan!" Garen called. "What are you doing here?"

Just then 2 of Jarvan's guards came over and took position behind him. Jarvan beckoned for Garen to come closer. Garen had a slightly frightened look on his face, as well as Lux. Although he did not hesitate to step forward.

Once Garen was within talking distance, Jarvan walked up and whispered in his ear.

"Come with me, I need to speak to you in private. This is very important."

And with that Jarvan turned and quickly started walking. The guards made sure that no one could approach them as they walked through the streets of Demacia. Now Garen was wondering what this was all about. Jarvan had never done this before, securely escort him to a new area. Surely he knew that he could take care of himself. "This must be very important if he is using such effort to bring me there quickly." Garen thought to himself. Garen glanced over at Jarvan while they were walking. "Firm" he thought. "Serious, Strict…. Scared". All of these Garen noted in Jarvan's expression. "What could he be scared about? A possible Noxian invasion?" he thought. Jarvan led him and the guards to a narrow alleyway located in between two apartment complexes. Once they were at the end of the alleyway, Jarvan turned around and peered over the guards shoulders, checking if anyone was following. There weren't. Jarvan slowly slid his hand against the wall. As slowly as he did, he pulled a secret brick lever that was attached to the apartment complex. There was a large *clunk* sound, and the ground beneath them shifted, revealing a small crease in the ground. Jarvan moved over towards the crack and kicked it once. The ground beneath collapsed, revealing a small ladder. Jarvan turned back, signaling to his guards not to come, while him and Garen made their way down the ladder. At the bottom, it seemed that they were standing in an abandoned sewer system. One way had light emitting around the corner.

"What is this all about?" asked Garen finally.

"You will see my friend" was Jarvan's only reply.

They made their way down the sewer, heading towards the direction with light. Once at the end revealed a door. Jarvan stood in front of the door for a second hesitating before he opened the door and walked inside.

The door opened and inside shown a light that lit up the entire sewer system. The only thing within the room however were bookcases covering every wall from top to bottom. "Where is the light coming from?" wondered Garen. Just as Garen thought that Jarvan moved over to one of the bookcases and pulled a book out and laid it on a small table next to him. He looked back seeing a small lever. Jarvan pulled it.

The wooden floor opened up in the middle of the room causing Garen to stumble back a bit. Through use of mechanics, a small podium raised up from the ground. On it was an object unidentifiable by Garen but to Jarvan meant something important.

Jarvan broke the silence. "We take extreme precautions that this item doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"What is it?" asked Garen, staring at the object.

"You don't know what this is?" Jarvan said in slight shock. "It is only the most dangerous item that holds the power to destroy all of Valoran if it fell into the creators hands again."

Garen looked at Jarvan with still a confused look on his face. Jarvan chuckled at this.

"I haven't taught you anything have I?" Jarvan asked.

"What does that mean?"

Jarvan walked over to the table that he had set a book on before. He picked it up and tossed it over at Garen. Garen looked down at the book. The image on the cover has the same item as what is on the podium. Garen read the title out loud.

"The Hex Core" Garen said slowly.

"Mhm" replied Jarvan.

Garen set the book aside.

"Now considering you know me I take it you know I'm not going to read that entire thing. So tell me, what is the Hex Core?"

Jarvan stared at him for a second before replying.

"Like I said it is only the most dangerous item in Valoran if it gets in to the wrong hands. But let me tell you the history of it."

He paused before continuing.

"The Hex Core has been around long before any of us were. My father was probably only a little boy when this thing was created. The 'Machine Herald' created this. Have you heard of him before?"

"Only in stories before." Garen has heard of the Machine Herald before, although does not know much about him.

"His real name is Viktor. He was once a very smart man, a master of techmaturgy. He wanted to use his science to make a change in Valoran. Instead his dreams never bestowed upon other people. Viktor concealed himself away from human society and concocted a plan where he melded his own body into machines that he has created. When he awoke he was not himself anymore. He wanted to create a revolution where he turned all of Valoran in to techmaturgical machines and hextech augmentations."

Garen now hearing the story of Viktor could only imagine what he's like.

"And that is when my Demacia became involved. Luckily for us we heard of Viktor before anybody else knew. Not even Noxus knows about the Hex Core. That's why I said before, we take our precautions."

"So" Garen said. "Where is Viktor now?"

"He was dead…" he trailed off.

It took Garen a minute to realize this. "Wait, was? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, some of our scientists studied the Hex Core when we managed to defeat Viktor. They observed that before there was NO light emitting from it. When we were fighting Viktor, the light was on."

"So the light represents that its creator is alive."

"Yes, and right now its master is looking for this. Whether he has a way of tracking the Hex Core or not, we don't know."

"So then how do we know that Viktor is its master still?"

"How do we not?"

Garen stood staring at Jarvan for a while. He summarized what he had just heard in his head: a technological madman has come back to life and is now looking for his prized possession. Garen normally doesn't frighten easily, but Viktor sounds like a formidable foe.

"So why did you call me down here exactly?" trying to not sound concerned.

Jarvan smiled lightly and looked at him. "Simple, I want you to stop him."


	3. Chapter 2: Potential

The light dimmed as Garen closed the door behind him. The sewer that he had travelled down to get to where he was now was considerably darker on the way back, dark enough that the light from the Hex Core did not matter now how much Garen could see in front of him. Leaks and creaks were all he heard before he finally found his way back to the ladder.

Once he surfaced to his surprise it was raining. The alleyway was drenched, a pool of water came up about an inch from the ground. The guards that escorted Jarvan and Garen there were still positioned right outside.

"Where's Jarvan sir?" one guard asked.

"He decided to stay down a little longer… he needed to study something." Garen replied.

Garen walked the path down the alleyway before getting interrupted.

"Sir, are you ok? You look exhausted."

Garen took a slight pause before he turned and looked at the guard who asked.

"I'm fine" was all Garen could muster up to say before eventually leaving the alleyway.

In reality however, Garen was not fine. At most he was extremely uncomfortable in the situation that Jarvan had just put him in. An unseen pressure was weighted against Garen's back as he thought about the situation. The Hex Core. "A device with such power that it could revolutionize the world as we know it." Garen repeated what Jarvan had told him, questioning what Jarvan hadn't told him. "Where does its power come from? How do we destroy it? How do we know that Viktor isn't coming after it right now?" These questions stormed in Garen's head as he walked down the streets of Demacia, water pouring on to him and the road in front of him. There was no one on the streets. There was never anyone on the streets when it was raining, which made anyone on the streets while it was raining look weird. Most of the houses on the street were lit up. If Garen were to look inside one he would find a nice family just about to sit down and have supper together.

Garen strode up to his house after a slow walk to get there. To his surprise, his lights were on. "Odd" Garen thought "Who could be inside." Garen approached the door. Once he approached he heard a light music. Sona's music. Her music was beautiful. Chord after chord her music can lighten someone up even on the darkest days. One could listen to it hours on end and not get tired to it. It's like there is a magic to her music that makes her one of the most popular musicians all across Valoran. Garen opened the door to his house, the music became distinctly louder. Garen turned the corner in the hallway only to find Lux. Dancing, much to his surprise.

"This must be what she is going to dance at Jarvan's party." Garen thought.

Garen stood and watched silently as Lux danced, not noticing that Garen had arrived. The way that Lux danced fit Sona's music perfectly. Step after step, she was synchronized with Sona's music. One step firmly on the ground into a spin afterwards. Twirling her baton around her has she kept up with the music. The music picked up, and so did Lux. The way that Lux flowed with the sound of the music was incredible.

The song was coming to a close as Lux twirled her baton around faster continually dancing to the music. Finally she pulled a stunt. She threw her baton up in to the air, the tip of it just barely touching the ceiling. Once the baton was at its highest peak, she spun and jumped at the same time causing her to spin mid-air as she caught the baton mid air as well. She landed gracefully and softly on the floor, spinning another full circle before her eyes met Garen's.

A quick blush fell upon her cheeks. She ran over towards the nearest couch, quickly grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it. Garen came over and took a seat in a chair next to it.

"You know you could've at least knocked!" Lux said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I would've, but I was afraid that you would've stopped if I did." Garen said.

Lux raised her head and looked at Garen, still blushing. "Well you're right."

Garen chuckled under his breath. "Why do you keep trying to hide everything?"

"It's not that. It's just… I'm not good when people are staring at me." Lux said

"Well then how are you going to handle tomorrow?"

"I don't know." she buried her face back into the pillow. "I wish I had more time for this."

Garen sighed. He came over and took a seat next to Lux on the couch. "Lux, I think your dancing is beautiful."

She stayed silent.

"You have so much hidden potential in you, you just don't realize it yet. Its like…" Garen tried describing it with his hands "...there's this big ball of light in you ready to blow up, you know! And once it does your strength will show and light up even the darkest of places! You just need to unlock it, and to unlock it you must believe in yourself that you can do it. It comes from the heart." Garen motioned his hand over his own heart.

Lux stayed silent the entire time before looking up at Garen, a dried up tear stream below her eye. "You really think so?"

"Yup. And when the time comes I will be so proud of you. You are my little sister you know." he began laughing. But just then Lux jumped out at him, giving him a big hug.

"Thank you, Garen"

Day 2

"LIGHT"

It was mainly out of impulse. The words just slipped out of Garen's mouth when he awoke, having no control over him saying it and no idea why he said it. The word was just there. In the air and in his head as well. Garen sat up, wondering what had just happened before he set it aside.

Garen heard a knock on his door. "Garen, are you O.K?" The voice of Lux was alive and awake outside his door.

"Yeah, everything is fine." he yelled back.

Lux opened the door and walked into his room. She looked at him worried. "I must have said that really loudly." Garen thought.

"You sure now? That sounded scary."

"Yes I'm fine, I think."

"Ok!" Her voice immediately became more cheerful. "Hey come outside real quick, I want to show you something."

She quickly ran out of his room, grabbing a towel along the way. Garen got up slowly, still recuperating from his outburst. He threw on a fresh shirt and pants, ignoring his armor for now, and headed outside after Lux.

The rain from last night had subsided but not long ago. A thin stream of water still ran across the streets of Demacia. The sky was still a cloudy gray with small patches of sky in between them, signaling that the rain hasn't completely stopped yet. A cold breeze caught Garen off guard as it gave him the chills.

"See, that is why I brought a towel, to keep me warm and comfy." said Lux with a cheeky smile.

"Why didn't you just bring a jacket instead of taking my towel?" asked Garen, rubbing his eyes to adjust to the brightness.

"I'm lazy." Lux sat down on the steps that led down to the sidewalk below and patted a seat for Garen to sit in. Garen sat where she told him to, looking out to the passing civilians walking down the street.

After a moment of silence, Lux pointed up towards the sky. "Look there!"

Garen glanced over to see what she was pointing at. A thin break in the clouds revealed multiple colors in an arch, red on the top and purple at the bottom.

"A rainbow." Garen said

"Yup, you don't get to see too many of them these days." Lux said, staring at it. "You know rainbows are actually very complicated things. Knowing about the creation of one requires knowledge on all sorts of science stuff, like refraction, optics, those kind of things. When I look at it though I don't think about those kind of things. I think about how beautiful it looks, and what it brings to the day. It brings about a new kind of light to brighten up an already bright day."

Garen glanced over at Lux. She was smiling the entire time looking up at the rainbow.

"What's with you and light? Why do you like light so much?" Garen asked.

Lux laughed lightly at this. "It's obvious, I don't like the dark."

"Ahh." Garen glanced over at the rainbow only to notice that it had been covered back up by clouds again.

"We should go before it starts raining again." Lux said

"Where?"

"The Prince's Palace. I want to get there early before it gets too crowded."

"It's so early though!"

"I don't care. Be social for once and talk to people." Lux said teasingly.

The Prince's Palace was a big place. A long carpet stretched across the wooden tile of the floor. On each side were large pillars that extended up to the roof. When entered, on the left was the eating area. Large long tables extended most of the length of the room. On the right hand size

was a large open area meant for socializing and dancing.

After hours of waiting people finally started to arrive. Only members of the prestigious royal houses are allowed to attend this party. Garen could recognize many familiar faces, including Vayne, Fiora, and Sona who was invited to play live music. Within mere minutes of people starting to arrive it felt as if most of the palace was filled already.

"Wow, I never knew this many people came." Lux said, standing next to Garen as he was leaning up against a wall watching people come in.

"Oh yeah, you've never been to one of these have you?" asked Garen.

"Nope."

"Well, lets just say you're going to have a big audience today."

"Oh joy." Lux said sarcastically.

The room suddenly fell silent. Lux and Garen looked over to see what was happening. With a crowd staring over towards the corner of the room, Jarvan had just arrived. He wasn't wearing his famous battle armor, but a suit more appealing for the event. He took a seat on his throne located against the center back wall.

"Welcome to Demacia's 4th annual party!" Jarvan announced.

The crowd roared a loud cheer.

"Today, we celebrate our heritage, our culture, and our city, Demacia. Now, everyone enjoy themselves tonight. Just remember, Demacia: now and forever!"

Another loud roar spread throughout the crowd.

"We got plenty of food and drinks for all, as well as a live music by the one and only Sona: Maven of the Strings. If you would like to dance along to the wonderful music, you can always step on the floor to talk, dance, and socialize, but first you must watch Lux and her wonderful dancing."

"Well, here goes nothing." Lux said, as she walked over to the open space in the room.

Lux stood in the middle of the room as most of the audience circled around her. Lux took a quick look around her to observe the amount of people watching. She tried her best to put on a smile for the crowd but couldn't help but look nervous. Sona had positioned herself to where the music would flow the most throughout the room.

With a prick of a string, a beautiful melody fell upon the crowd. A single note was enough to mesmerize the audience. Lux took a deep breath before she took her first step. Her foot landed, then pivoted, moving her entire body along with it before she took another leap keeping her baton spinning on her side and around her back the entire time. She landed, moving her baton over her head, spinning and stepping to the rhythm of Sona's music. The music was picking up pace, as well as Lux's dance. It had been the same music and same dance as when Garen walked in on Lux the night before.

As Lux continued her performance Garen glanced over at Jarvan, who was also observing her. However, Garen noted that his face wasn't of enjoyment but more serious. His eyes were moving to every detail of her movement as if studying her. His eyes however were most fixated on her baton. Jarvan seemed to take note of the way she was spinning it; form and detail of the baton were observed. He seemed to be stuck in a complete thought as the performance went on.

The music was picking up even more, signaling that the end was near. Lux did very well to keep up her pace to the music. As the music came to a close, Lux did what she had did the night before. She threw her baton up into the air, this time much higher than last time, and jumped up along with it. She twirled in the air for countless times, her grace left the audience starstruck. She grabbed her baton mid air when she landed, giving another spin as this time her eyes me with Jarvan's.

A sparkle shined in her eyes.

The crowd roared with applause, all very impressed with Lux's performance. Lux blushed at this, like many other times, and slowly made her way out of the circle.

"You did awesome Lux!" voices from the crowd yelled.

Garen smiled at her as Lux approached. The crowd had gone back to talking and eating amongst themselves.

"See, I told you they would love you." Garen said.

"You know doing that was harder than you think." said Lux with a slight laugh. "You can just feel all of them staring you down, like a million small weights on your shoulders."

"I know, but you did great."

"Well, thanks"

"Impressive performance today Lux."

Garen and Lux looked over to see the figure of Jarvan standing right in front of them, this time with a big smile on his face.

"Thanks!" Lux said, elated that the prince of Demacia said that.

He now looked over towards Garen. "Garen, may I speak with you in private for a minute."

Jarvan began walking away towards the edge of the room, expecting Garen to follow. Garen trailed behind him, noticing that Jarvan's face had turned from happy to serious in a matter of seconds.

They both met near a wall in the corner of the room where no one else would hear.

"I'm impressed with your sister Garen." started Jarvan.

"Me too." said Garen

"She shows skill Garen, a skill that you might not recognize."

Garen was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Hmph, if you look at her when she was performing you could see the beginning of what could be the savior."

Garen was even more confused. "I'm sorry sir, I don't understand."

Jarvan stood quietly for a moment before he started again. "I want you her to go with you Garen, on your mission."

"Why, may I ask?"

"Well from what I saw today, your sister has a lot of hidden potential, just kind of waiting to be shown. But when for it to be shown, who knows."

"Don't you think that this will be too dangerous for her? I haven't told her about it yet."

"You haven't?" Jarvan looked over Garen's shoulder to see Lux leaning up against the wall. "Lux!"

Lux glanced over. Jarvan beckoned for her to come over, so she did.

"I have assigned you and Garen a mission."

"You did?" Lux asked "I'm not part of the military though."

"I know you aren't, but me and Garen both think that this will be a learning experience for you."

Lux glanced over at Garen, who the entire time was biting his lower lip.

"So what is this mission about?" Lux asked, this time sounding a bit more concerned.

"Garen will tell you the details of the mission when you guys head out."

"Where are we starting?" asked Garen this time.

"You will be starting in Bandle City, home of the yordles. I hear that they have some intel on the matter that can help you guys out, and trust me, you will need help on this mission." Jarvan said with a slight smile. Lux and Garen immediately looked a bit more uncomfortable.

"Oh yes Lux, can you go get Quinn for me, I need to speak to her about arrangements for your transportation over there." asked Jarvan.

"Sure." Lux said, this time giving a negative tone before she walked away.

Jarvan immediately turned back to Garen once Lux was gone. "Now, from the last time we have talked I gathered more intel on the Hex Core. It is said that along with the Hex Core there are three augments that go along with it that amplify its power, one is blue, one is yellow, and one is red. Your mission is to find them and destroy them. I am sending you off to Bandle City because that is where the last known location for one of these was."

"So when are we going?" asked Garen.

"As soon as Lux gets back with Quinn."

"This early? Lux had just found out about the mission." Garen thought to himself.

"When you arrive, you will meet with Bandle City's ambassador to Demacia, she will know what to do with you two."

"You requested my appearance sir?" a voice said behind them.

Quinn and Lux both walked up on to them.

"Yes, I need you to arrange transportation to Bandle City for Lux and Garen immediately."

"Already done sir, me and Valor can take them there fast."

Jarvan glanced at Lux, then back at Garen. "Good."

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**I hope you all enjoyed this second chapter! Took me a while to write. As always, if you have any feedback, just comment it below. Thanks :**


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to Bandle City

**More of a transition chapter, but it still provides important details that will affect the story. Enjoy :)**

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Day 3

A small sun shone through the morning sky. From this point in Valoran, the sun looked much smaller in the sky than in Demacia. So did the sky. The bright blue sky shown for the first time since they had left Demacia. A small breeze blew in the air, rustling the leaves of the trees that had surrounded Lux and Garen. A leaf blew off in the wind, riding the breeze until it very cautiously landed on the dirt trail right in front of Lux. Lux cautiously walked around it.

Before them stood a wood wall, acting as a barrier between the outside world and Bandle City. Two sets of double doors were in front of them, one a humans height and one only about a meter tall. The two stood in front of the doors for a moment.

"We're here" said Garen letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm excited aren't you?" Lux said with lively eyes.

"You can say that" Garen said as he pushed open the doors to Bandle City.

A flurry of just about everything connected with them. Sound and light that were being kept out of from the wall were now becoming present. The street in front of them was busy with yordles walking up and down the street. Small yordle children ran across the street, other yordles were on the sides by numerous buildings having conversations of their own.

Neither Garen nor Lux had ever seen a yordle before. Yordles were always an interesting species. They could speak human language but aren't like humans at all. Yordles were a lot shorter than humans, normally they are all less than a meter tall. They also have a wide range of skin tone colors. Some yordles either had completely smooth skin or were completely covered in fur, some in between those two. With a dramatic size difference Garen and Lux found it awkward to look down at a yordle whenever one went past them. The houses on each side of them were small compared to the ones in Demacia. It made them wonder if Bandle City had a place meant just for humans to walk in to.

"Wow, look at this place." Lux said in astonishment, looking around her observing all of the yordles. "Look at all of the yordles!"

"Yeah…" Garen said, trying to take in what is around him as well.

The two stood in front of the gate for a moment, still taking in their surroundings. Neither of them had ever seen a place like this before.

"So," Lux said finally breaking the silence "Have you ever been here before?"

"No actually" Garen admitted. This is one of the few places in Valoran that he had never been to before.

"So how do we know where to go?" Lux asked.

"We don't"

"I believe I can help with that."

A voice came from behind them that made Lux and Garen jump at the suddenness of it. They turned around to see a teal colored yordle looking up at them. She was wearing an almost complete full set of battle armor, all except the helmet. She had white hair in the form of pigtails; her voice was that of authority, but also experience.

The yordle walked up to them and held out her hand.

"I'm Poppy, Ambassador of Bandle City to Demacia. Jarvan told me that you were coming."

"I'm Garen, nice to meet you." he said, greeting her with a smile.

"Don't think I don't know who you are Garen." Poppy said with a coy smile. "Your stories of bravery and acts of courage inspire many of our soldiers around here, and for that we thank you."

Poppy released Garen's hand and turned over to Lux, holding out her hand once again.

"And you must be Luxanna Crownguard?" asked Poppy.

"Yes, I prefer to be called Lux though." she said shyly, shaking her hand.

"My apologies Lux, glad to be one to know the sister of the Might of Demacia."

Poppy let go of Lux's hand. She took a step back to gain a better view of the two humans who towered over her.

"Now I imagine that you two didn't come here just to sightsee." Poppy turned around. "Come, walk with me."

Poppy started and Garen and Lux followed. The path ahead of them was narrow, with yordles roaming up and down it. The buildings on either side of them were tall, normally two story buildings just high enough where you can see the light inside the second floor from close up. Through the windows of the lower floors you can see tables and furniture marking a home, others with various assortments of items marking a shop. The building's architecture fit with the rural environment that the city was located in. Nice shades of brown covered the buildings, complimenting the spring grass that were neatly tucked away in patches along alleyways and separating the path from time to time. The alleyways fit nicely into how the building were arranged, acting as shortcuts from one set of buildings to the next, however the alleyways were fairly dark. Small lanterns along the walls of the alleyways were not always lit, as such it did not light the way. In the darkness of one alleyway words were written across the wall. There were six words total, however most of the words were faded away. As Garen passed by this alleyway he could only make out the second word.

WILL

"Will, will, will, will, will, will…" Garen repeated the word over in his head. Why did this word stand out to him so much?

"Garen" Lux looked over noticing Garen's concern "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. its just…" Garen trailed off remembering that they were not the only ones walking along the road. "Nevermind."

Lux, still worried about her brother, turned her attention away from him focusing on the beauty of the city and two peculiar yordles that caught her eye. One blue yordle stood next to a large mech, what it was meant to do she did not know. The other blue yordle was female, standing next to a large hand cannon that looked like it could do some serious damage. The two yordles were standing in conversation, but Lux could not help to smile when the female blushed at something the other yordle said right before Lux turned the corner.

The walkway in front of them largened, revealing a different part of the city that they were just in. On the left were the same building from where they had just came from, but on the left was the Bandle City docks. Small waves were washing up on the rock walls that separated the walkway from the ocean, and were rocking small fishing boats docked and a short ways off shore. A short distance behind them was the lighthouse, leveraged up on a small hill to provide the most light to the outer boats.

The aspect that amazed Lux and Garen was one not expected in Bandle City. The amount of a military navy located towards the middle of the harbor was extraordinary. It was nothing too large in terms of technology but the amount they had. The military docks were separate from the fishing docks, the military ones located in the middle of the shoreline. A small walkway protruded from the middle, leading to buildings only accessible to officers.

Poppy noticed their surprise.

"We take extra precaution around the shoreline. Lets just say that Bilgewater doesn't take kindly to us." Poppy said.

"What would they want here?" Lux asked, still looking at the boats offshore.

"Well they are pirates. They want anything they can get." Poppy gave a small chuckle, followed by one from Lux. Garen was lost in his own thought, still trying to shake off the word in his head.

The yordle turned around and met eyes with Lux. She was going to say something to her, but had forgotten. Something about Lux gave Poppy a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time but couldn't quite remember what it was. A small smile traced across Poppy's face. The feeling reminded her of something from a previous time.

"Is something wrong?" Lux asked.

Poppy regained her composure, realizing how long she was looking at her, surely making her feel uneasy.

"Oh, no I was just going to say…" Poppy paused, trying to remember what she was going to say. "I noticed you looking at two particular yordles earlier, I was just wondering if you took a liking to them?"

Lux took a second to think of the yordles she talked about, then realizing there was a specific two that she was paying attention to.

"I found them interesting. What both of them had looked like it could blow stuff up."

"Oh, you haven't seen Ziggs yet." Poppy smiled as she continued to walk.

"Well, I thought that they looked cute together. Like they could be together." A blush fell upon Lux's face at saying this, and Poppy responded with a small chuckle. What Lux didn't know is that she knew those two all too well.

"I must tell you that yordles need each other much more than humans do. The yordle society is much different, something that you will soon come to realize. We are all family here, Miss Crownguard." Poppy's voice was much more serious when saying this.

These words struck a string in Lux's heart. The feeling to need something more than anything else was of themselves. It was a feeling that Lux had never felt before, however every yordle knows it. And for that Lux knows that yordles are privileged with this honor.

The farther and farther they walked the more they realized how vast the yordle community is. People of all different sorts of personalities were among the streets. Some yordles walked up to Lux and Garen and asked them different things, whether it was a school-yordle asking various questions or someone asking for a human perspective on Bandle City. Towards the end of the shoreline they made another curve into a street that looked very similar to the one they were in earlier.

It was a short walk before down before they had hit the center and heart of Bandle City. Through the stairs leading under an archway, they were met with an open area where you can breathe and smell the fresh air around them. They were first presented with a railing that led down to a park with a fountain in the middle. The park took up most of the area that was presented in front of them. On the other side of the park was a large building that stood high by itself, stairs leading up to it. Behind it was a wonderful view of the mountains and trees, both presenting a wonderful and relaxing view.

There was not many people here at the moment. Poppy went up and leaned against the railing, her armor meeting with the metal railing.

"So since Jarvan told me that you were coming, it must be pretty important." She now turned to look at both Garen and Lux.

"It is." Garen began. "But I don't know if he would want me to tell anyone about it."

"Bandle City and Demacia have a stronger relationship than you might realize Garen. Anything that might harm Demacia or other parts of Valoran, we are notified as well. We could call a defensive maneuver if anything dangerous is about to his Bandle City." Her voice was of business now.

Garen took a while to process her words, deciding whether or not to tell her. He decided to trust her.

"Have you ever heard of the Hex Core?" Garen said quietly so that anyone else can't hear.

Poppy's body stiffened at hearing those words. She immediately became concerned.

"Yes, what about it?" her voice was stern.

Garen leaned on the rail next to Poppy and glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

"It has reactivated, meaning that its creator is still alive."

Garen glanced at Poppy, who was still trying to comprehend the information that was being given.

"You know who the creator is right?" Garen asked.

"Yes. He was known as Viktor, the Machine Herald. He himself could had the power and knowledge to take over all of Valoran with one of his creations, that's why he was put down long ago." Poppy now looked up at Garen. "But how has the Hex Core reactivated?"

"That's our mission." Garen stood up straight and stretched himself out. "If Viktor is truly alive somehow than we have to stop the Hex Core's power as soon as we can before Viktor can get to it. You know about the three augments right?"

She gave a simple nod.

"The last one was located was near here, that's why we started here. We are to track down and destroy the augments."

"You do realize the difficulty of this task? The augments could be anywhere if they are located near here. And if you do find one and the creator realizes that you are tracking them down he will come for you."

"That's why we came to you." Lux stepped up. "For help."

Poppy glanced between both Garen and Lux. The more she glanced between them, the more her expression changed.

"You're asking a tall order… but" she gave a small smile at her own thoughts.

"I think I know some yordles that I know for sure will get the job done."

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**Ok, I'm EXTREMELY sorry on how long that this chapter took for how short it is. I got caught up writing another story for my friends birthday that is also available on my profile. I'm not really proud of this chapter because I felt I could explain and capture some feelings better. HOWEVER, this is the end of the technical introduction to my story. The journey starts next chapter. For me, these next few chapters are going to be super fun for me to write, and should be super fun for you guys/girls to read. Make sure to keep track of this story for updates!**

**P.S: You're going to realize that I like to end chapters or stories with quotes... I'm sorry, its just habit :(. **


	5. Chapter 4: Eternal Bonds

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Definitely the best chapter so far, and the most I've ever written in a single chapter so far! As always comment what you think of it, and go check out the League form that this is posted on and upvote it! Thanks! (Final Spark: A League of Legends Fanfic by ZocoLP).**

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_Day 4_

"Captain Teemo on duty!"

"Teemo! Do you really have to say it that loud? They can hear you just fine."

"Fine, sorry Tristana."

One night spent in the inns of Bandle City was all the time it took for Poppy to organize situations for Bandle City's finest troops. The new morning for Garen and Lux was of all too relaxing, both of them enjoying their first night in a new city. However the fun times were about to be over.

The sun shone a bright day upon them when Poppy had called them out to meet a couple of yordles she knew would be an asset to their journey. The air was crisp and a mild breeze flew through the air, brushing over the surface of the ocean as waves washed up against the shoreline. To Lux, the feeling of Bandle City reminded her of times she spent laying on the beach in Demacia. Relaxing, fresh, free.

As they walked along the sidewalks, Garen could not help but still think about what had happened the day before. The same word was still stuck in his head. _WILL_. 'There must be a meaning to it' Garen thought as he treaded the hot sidewalks. When they climbed stairs out of the road by the ocean Garen was thankful to have buildings provide shade to him as the heat did not help him get the thought out of his mind any easier.

As they rounded another corner, they were met by the steel broad eyes of Poppy off in the distance patiently awaiting their arrival. To Garen and Lux's notice there were two other yordles standing beside her that didn't particularly have a place in the crowd. One was coated in light brown fur, the other having soft blue skin. They appeared to be locked in a pretty serious conversation.

As Garen and Lux approached, they were able to listen in on a little bit of their conversation.

"- and I'm beginning to worry about him." the blue one said.

"Why?" the furred one asked.

"Like, hes been acting more nervous lately, especially around me. I don't know why."

"And he's usually a calm guy too. I don't know what would set him off."

"Yeah, me neither. All he does is tend to his robot thing all day. But now that I think about it, I think he has been hiding something about that robot from me."

"Now that I think about it, I think I know why."

"Why?"

"Well… Lets just say that I'm not sure if he would like me telling you."

"Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Teemo! Tristana! Attention!" Poppy had shouted over to them, interrupting the climax of their conversation. Both yordles immediately turned around, taking few steps to get to where Poppy was. By now both Lux and Garen could see both of their faces. The brown yordle had a cheesy smile on his face, if not for the fur he would certainly be blushing.

"Teemo, Tristana, this is Garen and Lux. You will be accompanying them on their mission." she said in a more relaxed and less commanding voice.

"Garen, Lux, this is Teemo and Tristana, two of Bandle City's most renowned soldiers. Together they will aide you in your journey."

The brown yordle stepped up and stood straight, trying to be his tallest in the presence of humans. He wore nothing as a shirt, only his bright brown fur as it flowed in the wind. Green boots and gloves accompanied his hands and feet with red pants buckling around his waist and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. A green hat was snug on his head with a pair of goggles strapped on tightly. Slung around his shoulders and shown on his back was a bag full of different maps and scrolls. He raised his hand up to his forehead in a solute.

"I'm Captain Teemo, the Sw-" he was cut off by the other yordles elbow connecting to the side of his ribcage. The blue yordle cocked her head at him, barely maintaining smile.

"I'm Teemo." he said slightly half-heartedly, disappointed at not being able to say what he was going to say.

Now the blue yordle stepped up. She had short, white hair that barely touched the bottom of her eye, beautifully matching her light blue skin color. Her attire consisted of a mix of armor and personal wear, steel gauntlets and boots were equipped and a buttoned blue overcoat covering her upper body as well as she was wearing purple pants. Strapped across her back and binded at her waist, a bag full of cannonballs were backpacked on her. Making sense of this, she leaned on her trusty rocket launcher which looked a little too large for her. Lux realizing this knew now that this was one of the yordles she had been observing earlier.

"And I'm Tristana." she said coming out, trying to sound more professional than her partner Teemo, but didn't come across well when she gave a nervous laugh partially due to Teemo's performance.

Garen looked at Poppy, giving her an expression questioning if she was serious or not. Poppy returned gazes, only responding with a smile. Lux however was not in the least bit questioning this decision. In fact, she took an immediate liking to both of the two. She kneeled down just a bit, gaining about eye level with the two. Both pairs of lively blue eyes were looking at her.

"Hi there." Lux greeted, swapping her sight between the both yordles. "I'm Lux."

The air fell silent for a moment. Both species awaiting a response from the other, the yordles waiting for Lux to elaborate. Lux however was waiting for her brother Garen to say something. Instead when Lux looked over Garen was absorbed in his own thought. Lux grabbed Garen's sleeve to his undershirt and pulled him down level to the yordles.

"Oww, hey!" Garen complained.

"And this is my brother Garen!" Lux said now slightly annoyed. This change in tone made Garen realize what she wanted him to do.

"Hey." was all Garen was able to say, feeling very uncomfortable for the awkward greeting and could tell that everyone else was as well.

"Well," Teemo started, trying to stray away from the greetings "you're going to have to tell us about this mission because what's her name over there isn't telling us anything." He pointed at Poppy.

"It's Poppy for you sir." she said.

"Yeah, Poopy." he was trying and it was succeeding. Teemo looked at Poppy with devilish but childlike eyes. Poppy rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed but knowing that it was only sarcasm.

"Well if we're going to leave then we should go soon." Tristana said, her voice sounding of anxiety; not only was she anxious to go but also wanted to leave this silly conversation before it escalated any further.

"I agree." Garen kind of just blurted out. The others looked at him in question. Garen quickly noticed his mistake, leaving himself feeling slightly embarrassed. His eyes drifted over the group but landed on Tristana's. It was something about her and her gaze. Garen saw himself within the reflection of her gaze, and could tell that something about himself reflected inside her. They both smiled softly at each other.

"You guys can go now. Is everybody set to go?" Poppy said, doing a quick once-over of the party.

"Yup." Lux said gleefully.

"Sure." Tristana and Garen both said, now fixating their gaze away from each other.

"Going now would be smart anyways. I don't want anyone to know that I'm leaving." Tristana said, beginning to pick up her rocket launcher slinging it over her shoulder.

"Why not?" Teemo asked, turning around about to follow Tristana.

"Because if the little ones know that I left then they would be freaking out all day trying to find me. The last time that happened, boy was it chaos." Tristana said, cringing at the thought of it. She began to walk with Teemo, slowly following at his side.

Garen and Lux gathered their bearings before they began to stroll along behind their newfound companions.

The entrance in front of them had been the same one in which they had come through before. The sun had set just enough in the time spent to offer a nice line of shade to all that passed beyond a certain point. Without a word, they set out, taking in the beauty of the light beginning to seep through the horizon's edge as they took their steps toward Bandle City's main gate. As they approached the gate however, Lux felt a sudden hand tug on to her wrist.

Lux stumbled, turning around to find a blue furred yordle grasping her wrist. The first thing she noticed was his golden-honey colored eyes looking at her in worry. His facial expression looked worried, but not frightened. He wore a casual looking sky-blue shirt and black pants to go along with it.

"S-Sorry, but I just," he seemed flustered as he stumbled over his words. "I need to ask something of you."

Lux didn't say anything. Instead the yordle stepped forward, closing some of the distance between the two.

"Take care of them ok? They're my best friends. I don't know what I would do without them."

_"You will soon come to realize that yordles need each other much more than humans. We are all family here."_

Poppy's words rang in her head as she heard this. What were seemingly meaningful words evolved into reality in front of her. These two yordles are important to this one, and she could see it in his eyes. A newfound emotion sparked inside of Lux. She kneeled down next to the yordle, giving him a small smile.

"I will"

"Lux!" Lux turned around at the sound of her name being called by Tristana. She was looking over at her from the distance.

"Are you comi-" she cut off her voice at the sight of the other yordle, who now made his appearance known by stepping out from behind Lux.

"Oh, hi Rumble." she said, changing her tone of voice specifically for him. Her voice was immediately more cheerful.

"Hi Trist." Rumble said abbreviating her name. He stumbled again over his next few words before saying them.

"Well, you have fun ok?"

Tristana gave him a wide smile, followed immediately by a solute from her.

"Always." she said cheerfully. Both yordles looked at each other with wide smiles.

A flux of emotions flowed through Lux as she experienced the bond between the two yordles herself. What could only have been a minute and her perspective on Bandle City has grown through actions and Poppy's words. A tear began to pool in her eye.

She left the sidewalk of Bandle City stained as her eternal tear dripped from her eye. Her memories here will never be forgotten.

The main gate shut behind Tristana and Lux as they were the last to leave. The forest beyond them was the same one that they had walked through to get here. Although from this viewpoint, Lux can see how dense the forest really is. A dirt trail was enough to guide wanderers here and from the city. Garen and Teemo were waiting for them, leaning up against a tall oak tree on the side of the path. Lux and Tristana approached them.

"So, where to?" Tristana asked.

"I'll tell you about it while we're walking, because what we are looking for could be anywhere." Garen replied.

The sun had reached its peak height as the journey slowly begun. Teemo took a commanding lead, leaping right up to the front of the pact. Following shortly behind him was everyone else. The forest surrounding them seemed to fully envelop them in it presence. Looking on either side of them, they could only see a mirror of everything that was already presented to them, large outbranching trees, fragrant berry bushes, and an assortment of beautiful flowers scattered neatly on the rich soil.

"Anywhere you say?" Teemo said after a while. "That's good, because I was going to lead us towards Kumungu, I forgot to stock up on poison the other day."

"Teemo! You were supposed to do your chores before you go on a mission remember? Now this is only a delay in time!" Tristana yelled.

"Hey, it's not my fault that Ziggs wanted my help to make poison bombs, I used all the poison I had for that!" he raised his arms up in exclamation.

"Well, they better be worth it then." Tristana continued.

"Oh, they are. Trust me." Teemo laughed sarcastically at it, because he knew that the experiment went horribly wrong.

"What's Kumungu?" Lux asked shyly. The two yordles turned their head towards her.

"It's a jungle not to far from here, just past the mountains." Teemo said.

"Teemo goes there to collect his poison." Tristana clarified.

"Poison?" Garen asked suspiciously. "And what do you use this poison for?"

"Heh." Teemo snickered a bit.

"Let's just say that there is a reason why I'm known as one of Bandle City's best." he said in a deeper voice than normal. Serious.

"Don't underestimate Teemo." Tristana said clearly so the point got across. "If it weren't for him, I would be dead ten times over already."

"I can say the same here." Teemo said, giving Tristana a quick high five.

"You two seem to know each other really well." Garen said, now understanding why Lux took a liking to them so quickly.

"I've known Teemo since we were children. We've been friends ever since then." Tristana said, remembering the old times.

"And now us and our friends have grown to be the strongest we could possibly be." Teemo said, almost bragging at this point.

"If there's one person I would trust to take on a difficult mission, it would be Tristana. She has the strength and capability to carry us by herself."

"There's no one else I'd rather have as a friend than Teemo. He can blind people for 2 weeks straight if he wanted to. Although hes a nice person most of the time." Tristana said.

The entire time everyone had a smile on their face.

"Then there's Rumble. You met him, right Lux." Teemo asked.

"Yup." she replied cheerfully, enjoying every bit of this conversation.

"Well he might not seem like it on first appearance, but he is the smartest yordle I've ever seen. He can make a robot that can shoot people out of twigs and grass." Teemo exaggerated.

"And there is…" Tristana's voice drifted off. She looked over at Teemo, predicting what she was going to say next. His mood and face shifted expressions, now looking more dreary.

"Then there… was… someone else." Tristana's voice now faded as well. "I don't think Teemo would like me to tell you about him though."

The air suddenly felt heavier around them. A cold breeze had picked up in the air, softly blowing the leaves and grass around them, as well as Teemo's fur. Lux noticed how much Teemo stood out. Something about his fur seemed to glisten and shine, reflecting his personality. His eyes were looking at the ground as they were walking. Without light shining in his eyes, Lux could notice a tear forming in one eye.

"So enough about us." Tristana said, trying to regain her old cheerful voice. "What about both of you?"

"Us?" Lux and Garen weren't both prepared for the question.

"Well, you can't really say that we've been friends for long since we're siblings. We've known each other for forever." Lux said.

"But we have our moments." Garen said, not elaborating on it much further.

"I've heard a lot already about you Garen." Teemo said, seeming to return to his normal self. "Lux I imagine that you're skilled too, since you're Garen's sister."

"No actually." Lux said to their surprise. "In reality this is my first ever mission."

"Really? Well I can imagine why they wouldn't want to send such a beautiful and charming lady such as yourself on to the battlefield." Teemo said with a slick smile on his face. Lux felt praised yet slightly coy at the fact she just got complimented by Teemo. A quick blush fell upon her face.

"Oh my goodness." Tristana mumbled in the background.

"Speaking of mission, what is our mission?" Teemo asked, not wanting to put the goal of why they came out here in the first place a while longer.

Garen explained the mission to Tristana and Teemo, both taking in what they were hearing. The forest around them now seemed to expand wider, the dirt trail now becoming wider as it headed into a brief clearing. The sun was still high in the sky, clouds now becoming imminent as off in the distance Lux could see an abundance of them. A light breeze now skimmed the surface of everyones skin and fur.

"I see." Teemo said after hearing the information. "So we're looking for 3 glowing artifacts the emit light?"

"Yes." Garen replied.

"And they could be anywhere?" Tristana asked.

"Yes… sorry if it's a little vague."

"It's fine" Teemo said. "It just gives us more time for an adventure."

"Oh, I like adventures." Lux said childishly.

"Yup, and our first stop is Kumungu!" Teemo exclaimed, now running off ahead of them in excitement.

The journey to Kumungu was tedious, however not as long as Garen and Lux both expected. In fact it took them less than a day to get there. Kumungu was a jungle located on the opposite side of the Sablestone Mountains as Bandle City. The jungle was a mysterious place, much different than the forest they were just in. Much more exotic, and alive. A place where it seemed like someone was watching you from around every corner. Very ominous indeed. However, this place was all too familiar to both Teemo and Tristana. They both walked through the damp soil harmlessly, knowing that nothing here will hurt them. Another brisk flow of wind rattled the leaves, making sprinkles of water from the previous rainshower pour on them. Almost unexpectedly, a small boar came running out from one of the trees charging straight in between Lux's legs.

"Odd." Teemo claimed as he made his way through the large leaves of the jungle plants that scoured this place.

After a while they had stopped walking. They took a rest under a tree big enough to provide shade to all of them.

"So, what to do now?" Lux asked.

"It's getting night, we should probably set up camp somewhere." Garen suggested.

"Ok, but I still need my poison before the night's over. Can't leave the camp unguarded just in case." Teemo said.

"Ok, we can split up in to teams. Me and Garen can go look for a good spot to set up base camp while you and Lux look for your plant. It will be the most productive and we will have a better chance of finding one of these augments." Tristana said.

"Good idea." all of them agreed.

By now the sun was ever so slowly setting behind the mountains. The angle the light from the sun shown illuminated the sky a warm orange glow. Shadow's began to cast over the plantlife on one side, beginning to settle and rest until a new day arose. The group separated into their specified teams. With a quick good luck, both groups dispersed.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Lux asked, not knowing what Teemo is looking for. She understood that he was looking for his poison, but from what?

"It's a rare plant, a basic flower really." Teemo said as he was inspecting every corner and clearing in the jungle to find one. "It has seven petals and is a bright yellow. You can't miss it out here."

"Seven petals, bright yellow. Got it." Lux confirmed.

"I have equipment in my bag I can use to extract the poison quickly. If we find it fast, we can get back to camp before night." Teemo said.

As they began to search for the plant, a moon began rising in the sky, illuminating the jungle in a different light. Because of this, different types of plant life began to appear more distinct. Some plants seemingly glowing in the moon's still light. Some plants seeking to be divine, as if it were unnatural.

As they were passing through a small outcropping, Lux noticed a flash of yellow fly through her peripheral. She turned to see what it was.

"Hey Teemo." she called out, stopping Teemo in his tracks. "Is this it?"

Before her was a small flower, meeting the requirements that Teemo had specified. It had seven silky petals that stretched out and a bright dandelion yellow color that stood out in the night.

"Perfect." Teemo said as he walked over to Lux.

Teemo knelt down next to the flower, slowly unstrapping his sack off of his back, careful not to spill what was already overflowing with maps and scrolls. From it he took out a few items: a small vial big enough to hold a couple ounces of liquid, a pincushion needle with the tip being small enough to only create a small hole, and a small rounded base hollowed in the center.

He first placed the base on the bottom of the flower, and with a small click the edges clamped the stem of the flower, not hard enough to cut the stem from the ground but firm enough to hold the flower upright and steady. With the flower now facing completely upwards instead of lopsided, Teemo took the needle in one hand and the vial in another. Carefully, Teemo raised the needle over the disk flowers and punctured a small hole right in the center. The flower recoiled in the needle's touch, but gave way to oozing a small stream of thick purple poison right in to the vial which Teemo was holding beneath the flower.

Lux sat and watched the entire process. It was not lengthy, in fact it didn't take much time at all. Teemo slid the vial out from under the flower, being practically full. He took a small cap and locked it over the top of the vial.

"What do you use this for?" Lux finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Teemo did not quite catch the question at first. "Oh yes!"

Teemo reached into his bag and quickly pulled out a bundle of darts and a blowdart. The darts were kept neatly together, tied together with string. The blowdart looked exquisite. The way Teemo held it, told Lux that it was precious to him.

"This is my weapon." Teemo said, laying the darts aside. He now held it with two hands. "It's a blowgun that I've had for a long time, made out of the finest wood Bandle City has."

After adoring the blowdart, he reached over to the darts.

"I use poison darts. That's why I needed this poison. I coat the tip of the darts with it." Teemo said.

Lux could only imagine what it must feel like, getting pierced by one of his poison darts. It hurt just thinking about it.

"So this is what you use to defend yourself with." Lux said coyly.

"I don't only defend myself with this. I am not always the defender." Teemo pointed out, putting away his materials. "Sometimes I'm the attacker."

Lux did not know what to think of those words, only mixed emotions as a howling wind began to pick up in the air.

"What does it feel like?" Lux asked hesitantly.

"What does what feel like?" Teemo said.

Lux took a deep breath to regain her composure, thinking about the question made her uneasy but she knew she needed to ask it.

"I've never asked my brother this because I was too afraid to ask him, but now I feel like I need to know." She locked eyes with Teemo, making him know she expected an honest answer.

"What does it feel like to kill someone?"

Teemo did not expect a question of this caliber. He was surprised at the girl's broad question and did not know how to answer it.

"I'm surprised that you're able to trust me with this question and not Garen." Teemo said, trying to blow off the question.

"I trust you, Teemo." Lux said with pure honesty. "From the two days I've been in Bandle City i've seen and realized lot already. It touches me when I see the bonds you and your other friends have formed. I only wished that I could recreate these same bonds back at home."

Teemo looked in to her eyes. His eyes was now particularly digging deeper into hers, and seeing something inside of her that only a few people have yet to realize.

"It's hard. Killing someone." Teemo said as he unlocked his eyes from hers, not yet willing to say it while looking into her eyes. "Emotionally. It makes you think about previous events in your life. Makes you think about whether you did right or wrong before." he didn't go into it much further.

Lux could tell that Teemo struggled to say these words, not wanting to express his own emotions towards her. Although he just did meant a lot to Lux.

"Thank you, Teemo." she said closing her eyes as she lifted herself to her feet. Teemo did so as well.

"Hey Lux?" Teemo now asked.

"Yes?" Lux replied.

"After this mission is over, I welcome you back to Bandle City anytime."

Teemo locked eyes with her as he said this, now saying it with his own honesty. True honesty.

Lux and Teemo smiled at each other as they walked back into the jungle together.

_(Meanwhile)_

After they had separated, Garen and Tristana searched the opposite way that Teemo and Lux had went. To find a place to set up camp was not easy in a dense jungle. It took them a good while of making their way through the pointy jungle leaves and thick brushes to find the opening presented now. Soft jungle grass laid out the carpet in the opening, slowly leading up to a rigid cliffside. The cliffside presented a wondrous view. From below they could see more of the Kumungu jungle, the tree canopy making out the layer that they could see the most. One would just not look directly down from the cliffside or it would induce a feeling of nausea. Above them was the now almost pitch black sky. From the cliffside, it felt as if the stars were closer and they were only a few small vertical steps away from pulling the sky right out from above them.

"Finally! We found something." Tristana exasperated.

"This should be good for the four of us." Garen claimed.

"Yup." Tristana said as she tiredly sat on the grass, preparing to rest a short while after a long walk. Garen plumped down next to her, also tired from the journey.

Tristana carefully laid her rocket launcher in between her and Garen, almost as if she wanted Garen to see it. Inevitably he took notice in it. It was a very peculiar device to him. The muzzle was collared with a gold brace and ruby red jewels, all encasing the wood base that looked like a mini tree trunk. It was a pretty big for a yordle, in fact almost matching Tristana's height.

"That rocket looks pretty big for you." Garen started.

"I get that a lot." Tristana said, now laying a hand across the top of it. "It's a sight for sore eyes though."

"It's uncommon for someone to find one of these in Demacia." Garen stated.

"Really? You think Demacia would have the technology for this." she said surprised.

"You'd think." Garen rolled on to his side, looking at Tristana. Tristana, taking notice, rolled her head to look back at him.

"There's something about you that intrigues me, I just can't put my finger on it." Garen knew, she just wanted her to think about it.

"Well is it a good thing or a bad thing?" Tristana asked.

"A good thing, definitely a good thing." Garen clarified.

"Oh," she wandered off in thought. She knew about Garen and his stories. To be complimented like that was a big thing.

Garen, now just realizing it, had his battle armor on the entire day.

"Ugh, this armor can really be a drag sometimes." Garen said as he stood up.

"Yeah, its friggin huge." Tristana said, laughing slightly. Garen laughed as well.

A giant armor set is not the easiest thing in the world to take off. Multiple latches kept the armor locked and tight, so during battle it would not falter easy. Garen did have to battle the most formidable foes after all. Underneath all of the armor, Garen wore an ocean blue tee-shirt and black shorts. Casual wear, like he would wear most of the time in Demacia.

"There we go, now I can actually feel the wind blowing." he said, spreading out his arms, letting the now spiraling wind flow through his body.

"Never knew the mighty Garen could be so spiritual." Tristana teased, looking at Garen from behind.

With his arms still spread, Garen walked over to the cliffside, making sure not to look down. He let himself consume the view. The jungle blossomed everywhere below him, giving the jungle a life of its own.

"Hey Tristana, have you seen this view?" Garen questioned motioning her over at the same time.

"No." Tristana walked over towards Garen.

"Wow, the jungle looks so pretty from up here!" she exclaimed. She sat down, legs hanging off the edges. Garen sat down next to her.

"From this point I wonder how Teemo did it." Tristana said amazed.

"Did what?" Garen asked.

"Memorize this entire place. He's been here so much that he's practically memorized where everything in this jungle is." Tristana said.

Garen didn't respond to this. He also wondered how Teemo had become so acquainted with the luscious jungle. Instead he picked up a rock and threw it off into the distance. They both watched as the rock disappeared into the canopy below them.

"See that tree, way over there." she pointed out to a tree off in the distance below them, located in a small clearing in the canopy. One of the only trees where you can see the trunk of it.

"Yes." Garen said.

"I bet you I can hit it from here with my rocket." Tristana looked at Garen, a challenging smile on her face.

"No way." Garen didn't believe that she could do it, however the look on her face made him nervous.

"It's a bet then? Loser gets to collect wood for the fireplace." she held out her hand, still with the same smile on her face. Garen eyed her for a moment before making up his mind.

"You're on." Garen challenged shaking her hand, now with the same smile on his face.

With this, Tristana picked up her rocket launcher and held it up in position. She didn't bother to stand up, she was going to shoot from her sitting position. Garen observed her, alligning her sights to form in the direction of the tree. From shooting from such a long distance, especially with a rocket launcher, you needed to account for a lot of variables. Wind, heat, aim, trajectory…

_Boom_

A loud bang went off as Tristana pulled the trigger, causing her to fall back in her sitting position. Birds flew from the trees, startled from the loud noise. More birds flew out from the trees below as the rocket whizzed past the trees they were nested in. Ever so slightly did the rocket curve just a little bit to each side, making its way towards the tree until…

"Bullseye!" Tristana cheered as she jumped up from where she was standing, doing a little dance.

The rocket went straight through the center of the tree trunk, leaving a very noticeable and clear hole in the middle.

"Damn!" Garen exclaimed. "You're a crack shot!"

Not only was Garen impressed, he was amazed! He had never seen anyone shoot from that distance and land a perfect shot like that. Garen turned around with a wide and proud smile on his face to a now laughing Tristana.

"You're good!" he said proudly.

"Thanks!" Tristana said, proud that she pulled off the shot herself as well. She took a seat next to Garen again.

"I think I know who I remind you of as now." Tristana said.

"Who?" Garen asked.

"Yourself." much to Garen's surprise this was the right answer. "Your strong, confident, brave, intelligent, and I can see that in your eyes that you look at me as recognition, almost as if you're looking in a mirror." Tristana blushed at her own statement.

"Not only that, you have the heart of a warrior." Garen now complimented. "You have the will of the ones you love in your heart. And like you I can tell that just from looking in their eyes."

Once again Tristana blushed from the compliment, the red becoming very apparent on her face. It was not every day one got recognition from Garen, and to get one since Garen was so well known was a huge honor to all.

Tristana turned her attention now away from Garen and back to the landscape below them, still thinking about Garen's words.

"You know I let Teemo try and shoot this once." Tristana started. "It was so funny, hehe." she began laughing at the memory.

"What happened?" Garen laughed.

"Well for one when he was about to shoot it he had the muzzle pointing the wrong way. That accounts for one of the times I saved his life."

"Haha" Garen started laughing as well.

"And when he did finally shoot it," she animated what happened with her hands. "He went flying back like 10 feet." she now bursted out laughing and so did Garen. Imagining the thought of the brown yordle flying backwards was too funny.

"Ehh, fun times." Tristana calmed down a bit, still laughing however.

"What's with Teemo anyway?" Garen asked, now on the subject of Teemo.

"What do you mean?" Tristana asked.

"Well, I mean I don't want to underestimate the him…" Garen said, not wanting to sound mean.

"Don't!" Tristana said clearly. "Like seriously. He may look awesome and all, but he's super serious when it comes to battle."

"Really…" Garen said slightly surprised. Teemo did not seem like the kind of person for battle.

"Yeah." Tristana now looked into Garen's eyes. "People often times judge him by his appearance, but that's their biggest mistake. This is what makes Teemo the perfect assassin."

"Assassin." Interesting word Garen thought. So that's what makes him deadly. The misinterpretation of his abilities.

"And what about you?" Garen asked, curious to know more about Tristana now.

"Me? Well I'm part of the Meggling Commandos."

"Really!?" Garen said surprised again. The Meggling Commandos were something of a legend in Bandle City. This girl kept on shocking him.

"Yeah. They were my inspiration when I was young and because of that I got to where I am today." Tristana said shyly.

"Well I'm proud of you." Garen said.

"Thanks." Tristana said, again blushing.

"I guess that makes you and Teemo the perfect deadly couple." Garen said with a devious smile on his face.

"Yeah, I guess we are…" Tristana looked at Garen, noticing his smile.

"NOPE! Not like that though!" Tristana pointed out when she finally realized what he was implying. Garen started laughing.

"Speaking of Teemo." Garen pointed down into the canopy below, noticing two figures move through the trees. As they came out into a clearing, it was now apparent that it was Teemo and Lux heading back. Lux caught sight of the two watching them from above, grabbing Teemo by the shoulder turning him around making him catch notice of the two as well. Teemo quickly realized where they were and begin running off, leading Lux with him marking that they were heading towards them.

"They're coming back. Which means," Tristana patted Garen on the back. "Good luck getting the firewood."

It was a quiet night for them. The only sounds heard was the whistling wind in the air as it blew Teemo's fur. A warm campfire was made by Garen in the middle with four small green tents on either side of it, large enough to hold one of them. Together they were surrounding the campfire, each holding a piece of boar meat on the end of a stick. Teemo cleverly skinned a boar they had found earlier and made it into a very fine piece of meat.

Garen sat next to Teemo. Teemo had a map laid out on his lap. Together they were discussing on where to go next. Lux and Tristana were off on the opposite side, talking about their own things.

"So if we were to go here next morning," Teemo said, pointing to a clearing on his map "It would provide us a good area to start. If these things can be anywhere, we want a good vantage area where we can all regroup if need be."

"Sounds like a plan." Garen finalized. He rolled up the map and put it back in to Teemo's bag.

Looking back, he noticed Teemo was still looking at him.

"Hey, Tristana told me what you and her were talking about earlier." Teemo said, leaning closer to make sure that Tristana couldn't hear.

"I've considered it before, asking her out."

"You should try it! I feel it would work out." Garen encouraged.

"I know, but…" Teemo sighed. "I would rather prefer it if we were just friends. I like her, its just it would be awkward to be in a relationship with your best friend."

"If that's what you feel like is the best, then stick with it. I'm just saying both of you are an awesome duo." Garen said.

"Yeah well" Teemo gave a slight snicker "Guy talk."

Garen gave a small chuckle. "Guy talk." he repeated.

_*Boom*_

With that a distinct sound came from beyond the cliff. A storm has begun to brew. Off in the distance you could see the clouds start to form into one giant cloud. The sounds of thunder were the first to come, but then you could see flashes of lightning strike the jungle below them. It was still a far distance away from them, although it was heading in their direction.

"Looks like a storm." Garen said. "I should go begin to pack stuff in my tent."

With that Garen had left. Lux, also noticing the lightning, began to do the same task Garen was doing. Teemo continued to sit there, watching the lightning, observing it intently. The way it came down upon the ground, the jagged lightning bolts ripping through the sky…

… Something was off.

The clouds were far too close together for it to be a legitimate rainstorm. It seemed to form a circle over one particular area off in the distance. A clean, perfect circle. The lightning came down at surprisingly regular intervals, keeping pace with each other, and almost hitting the same spot twice. It was far too… clean.

"Teemo…" Tristana said from behind Teemo. "It's not who you think it is, is it?" the words came out very hesitantly.

"It is." Teemo said. The expression on his face along with his voice was serious. "I know it is."

Tristana took a seat next to Teemo on the cliff, both now observing the lightning. Tristana now realizing the pattern had become enticed like Teemo. Both recognizing what it was that they were looking at all too well.

"Well if it is we're in for a pretty interesting road ahead of us." Tristana said, now with her serious voice.

Teemo did not reply. She was right, if it was him he wondered about what would happen. After all they did say that his heart beats eternally, and those beaten will remember eternally. Teemo was one who would always remember him, once more than a friend, hopefully always still a friend. He only knew one thing however…

A storm was coming.

* * *

**I love you all for coming this far! I really enjoyed making this chapter, and the new characters as well as the personalities I've set up. Maybe you even noticed the few references I put in and the foreshadowing to the what the next chapter is going to be ;). If you wanted to know, I'm going to shout out a story that really influenced me to start writing and is the inspiration to some aspects in this story. Go check it out and its League forum page! Every time I read it it always puts a smile on my face (except for the M-Rated content :P). The story is called "Winning the Heart of the Tempest" by Pielover314 (FF) / nyarlarBROtep (LoL Forums). Go give the guy some support and encouragement since he hasn't posted a new chapter in a long time. Maybe we can inspire him to start writing again! **


	6. Chapter 5: Tears of the Tempest

**A bit shorter than the last one, but hopefully just as good. Tell me what you guys think of this chapter because I haven't really wrote anything emotional before, so please give me feedback on this one to help the next chapter. Thanks guys!**

* * *

_Day 5_

_*Boom*_

If a day could be anymore inverse than the last then this would be it. The previous clear sky was now filled with giant grey rainclouds, thick enough to expand the planet itself. Rain pelted the jungle that surrounded them, plants being assaulted by the continuous pursuit of water bullets. The giant jungle trees shielded a lot of the incoming rain, although it still seeped through enough to land upon the group as they were shielding their faces from it. It was now a struggle to navigate the forest; left and right, back and forward the rain blocked vision after a short distance. Lux found it unbelievable that Teemo could still walk considering his fur was thick enough to absorb the water like a sponge, nor that Garen could still stand if his armor didn't already make his chest overflow with water already. She had it the easiest physically. She was the only one that didn't have any constraints that could hold her down among the rain. Tristana had to lug a rocket launcher and a bag full of cannon balls around and that's not easy.

The storm came overnight while they were all sleeping. The rain woke them up, then only a brief shower. However they made sure to make quick departure after they saw the eye of the storm was still far away. The unfortunate part was that their destination was through the storm, so only turn back or endure the storm. As Garen and Teemo both know, there is no turning back on a mission.

Teemo was at the front, trying the guide them through the now even thicker jungle as best he could. Following directly in his footsteps were the rest of them, treading in a single file line so that none of them got separated. Lux was in the back, trying not to trip over Tristana as she struggled to keep up. A once beautiful scenario has now become the maelstrom for her demise. The storm held them captive for the longest time. It seemed as if there was going to be no end to it and the farther and farther they continued, the worst it got. There was no talking during the time they were walking. If anyone was to start a conversation in this weather, it would be Teemo. However he seemed… different today than yesterday. Much more serious, more confidence, but also more nervous, more anxious, more wanting. His footsteps seemed of marching more of treading in the wet mud that encased their feet. His arms in front of his eyes but his eyes slim in search, in pursuit of something.

After some hours of walking, the rain finally died down, however the storm was not over. Another set of dark grey clouds were already roaming in. It was a short break period, so they used this time to take a rest. Although it was hard to sit down and relieve their legs from the stress they had just undergone, soaking their backs to the slippery tree trunks seemed more suitable to them. Lux leaned against a tree, tired from the expedition. She looked up through a break in the trees to notice that the sun had only hit the peak of its height.

"Really…" she complained to herself. "It's only noon."

However there was something else that intrigued her. The view did not only give her a view of the sun, but something big. Perplexed, Lux repositioned herself to gain a better view. It was a tree. A giant, no massive tree that bellowed above all other trees took her breath away. It was a distance away, yet it was just huge.

"Hey guys! Come look at this!" she called over to the others. They began to walk over towards her. Lux pointed towards the tree, which even to Teemo looked odd.

"What is that?" Lux asked.

"I don't know." Teemo said, curious himself.

"You don't? I thought you were supposed to know everything about this jungle." Tristana said exaggerating.

"It's not. Look at it a bit closer." Garen pointed out.

Upon closer inspection the tree was not actually a jungle tree, just a normal oversized tree. The leaves were not as big as a jungle tree. The color was a bolder but less distinct green like a forest tree. The tree was pretty far away, which left its size left up to imagination for when they are close up to it.

"There's a forest beyond here. That's where the tree is located." Garen clarified.

"That explains it then." Lux noted.

"Hmm" Teemo thought. "We should make our way over there. Could be interesting."

"We'd have to go through the storm though." Tristana said, looking over at the sea of clouds that was heading their way.

"Then we'll endure, like we did before. We will find these things." Teemo said strictly. He climbed upon a tree, gaining a better view. From overhead, the forest was not that far away. He could see where the jungle cut off into forest.

"Teemo…" Tristana worried.

"We should go now if we are to make it there before sundown." Teemo said, hopping down from the tree. "Let's go."

Through the rain once again, they headed towards the giant tree that they had seen before. The transfer of biomes was not long after they had spotted the tree, it only took them an hour to notice the trees change and the canopy lower upon them. The atmosphere changed, feeling now more enclosed in the forests embrace, however still being pounded by the storm. If it were a normal day, Lux could imagine beautiful animal and plant life conversing with each other in harmony. However a spiritual sense was sucked away from them, the forest feeling and being more natural than the jungle. Still being blanketed by rain, the forest seemed much easier to navigate since there wasn't any large plants and walls of trees blocking them from going somewhere. It was much more open than the jungle.

After a while of walking, they came upon a landmark sight. Upon them was the large trunk of the massive tree, which conveniently was in its own area where other trees were not around, only a large grass field separated them from it. They were standing from the trees, observing as the tree swayed in the wind. The leaves of the tree were very high up in the sky, spread more than the other trees allowing more rain to pour through.

"It's so big." Lux said quietly to herself.

"Should we stay here?" called Tristana, looking over at Teemo.

"We can stop here for now." Teemo said. "We can continue tomorr-"

_*Thwack*_

Without warning something skimmed past Teemo brushing against his fur, something sharp. It connected with a tree, sticking to it. Teemo flinched backwards.

"What the hell!" Teemo yelled in surprise.

"What was that?" Tristana asked, looking behind them but not finding anything that could've launched it at them.

Teemo looked at the object now pinned on the tree. It was a little blade with a piece of paper on the back of it.

"Kunai?" Teemo questioned. He slowly took steps towards it. As he did he could hear a small hissing sound that came from the paper attached to it. Cautiously, he grabbed the piece of paper and turned it around.

"Shit…" Teemo realized. The paper was laced with a lit gunpowder fuse.

"Paper bomb!" Teemo yelled.

They were only able to run a short distance away before it exploded around them.

* * *

Fog. His eyesight, he couldn't see much at the moment. The only thing he could remember was an explosion that had set him was the first to awake from the conflict. Not a jolt was he fully awake yet, he actually felt weak.

"Damn." Garen thought to himself. "What happened?"

Sitting up from where he was he felt lightheaded, stumbling as his hands caught him from lying down again. The grass he touched was wet.

"Rain." he thought.

Garen looked up in the sky only to notice that it wasn't raining anymore. The sky was now clear like nothing ever happened. Stars shown through the dark sky, but the sky wasn't the only thing visible. Leaves. Leaves obscured his vision of the clear sky. Garen attempted a second time to sit up, this time succeeding. To his surprise, he was in a different place than he was before the explosion. Before him was the giant tree trunk of the massive tree that they were looking at before. Now he had a close up view, noticing that its size was that of a giant wall, extending far to the right and left before circling around to form the circular tree before him. Unlike before, he could notice animal life settling in the tree. Bird nests were scattered across the tree and squirrels cuddled into small cubby holes across the bottom. A brisk breeze flowed in the air, letting him know that there was once a storm here. A chill flowed throughout Garen's body, but noticed that something warmed himself off quickly.

Looking to his side he was shocked that he didn't notice his friends laying beside him before, still unconscious but seemingly at peace. They were lined up next to him: Teemo, Tristana, Lux, and then Garen at the end. Looking up past Teemo however there was a person. No, a yordle. He could tell, the back of the yordles head was of fur, the same color fur as Teemo. His attire surprised Garen, seeming something a yordle wouldn't wear. A purple ninja garb, except right now his hood was down. He was sitting on a log, hunching over a campfire that he had set up.

To Garen, the yordle before him was a threat, the one who had attacked him. From his armor that he had laid in, he slowly drew out a knife making sure to make no sound as he did so.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the yordle said, not bothering to turn his head. His voice was just a tad bit deeper than Teemo's yet very similar.

_"He heard me?"_ Garen thought to himself.

"You're still weak. I also don't think Teemo would appreciate it if you killed me." the yordle said, a seemingly joking voice but was serious.

Garen was speechless. How did he know who Teemo was? With those words he put his knife away, still staring at the back of the yordle. To his noticement, he was eating. He had mushrooms on a stick, holding them over the fire to have them cooked.

"Aren't those Teemo's mushrooms?" Garen said, not afraid to say Teemo's name in front of him since he apparently knows Teemo.

"Yeah," he said "I don't think he would mind though."

The yordle turned around to face Garen. His face was very similar to Teemo's although not the type to keep an eternal smile on his face. Laces of hair flowed across his face, some spiking to the top of his head. His furry ears were raised, pointing towards the sky.

"Are you hungry?" he asked innocently.

Garen didn't respond immediately, still observing the yordle who was now observing him. Together they looked at each other for a while.

"Sure." Garen answered after a while.

With that the yordle turned around, immediately taking a blade out from under his garb. Quickly, he made work of the mushrooms, slicing one down into multiple smaller pieces catching them in his furry hand. Afterwards he grabbed another stick and stabbed the stick through them, creating sort of a kabob of sliced mushrooms. He got up standing straight and walked over towards Garen, ignoring the others for now much to the disapproval to the yordles will. He knelt down next to Garen, holding out the stick.

"Here." the yordle offered.

Much to Garen's thought, he was painfully submissive being very hungry. He took the kabob from him.

"Thanks." Garen said.

"No problem. Teemo taught me how to do that." the yordle said shyly.

He stood up and walked over to Teemo, kneeling down next to him. Garen observed while eating. A pain seemed to strike to yordles eyes as he looked down at the unconscious Teemo. Shaking, he put his hand up to Teemo's forehead, leaving it there for some time. After a while his hand left his forehead and went over to do the same thing, coming to a stop at Garen. He hesitated for a while before speaking up.

"I need to check your temperature, make sure you're not sick in any ways." he said.

"Why should I trust you?" Garen asked boldly. This seemed to take the yordle by surprise.

"You don't have a reason to trust me. I'm just asking for your approval." Kennen said intently, looking at him in the eyes. Once again, Garen didn't answer immediately.

"Fine." Garen sighed.

"Good." the yordle smiled. Slowly, he put his hand on Garen's forehead making sure Garen didn't make any sudden movements while doing so. The yordles touch was soft yet comforting, warm. Warm from the warmth that was collected in his fur. A touch that meant no harm.

He removed his hand, giving Garen a questioning look. Garen nodded in approval, knowing what he meant. The yordle still felt unsure about being around the human, although was brave. He took a seat next to him. The whole scenario was awkward for both of them, both of them not yet willing to trust each other.

"Who are you?" Garen said after a long silence.

"I can ask you the same thing." the yordle rebutled, making it known that he was uncomfortable revealing himself. "But I already know who you are Garen. You're pretty well known."

"Well I don't think someone in a ninja outfit could pass for a ninja just by wearing it." Garen teased smiling a bit. The yordle took the joke.

"Well I am a ninja, thank you for noticing." he said smiling at Garen. "And if you didn't realize yet I did my best to take care of all of you."

This was true. If he were to be unconscious in a storm him and the others would be much filthier than they were. Instead they were clean from any mud or dirt that got on them.

"Well if you won't tell me what your name is, then tell me how you know Teemo." Garen said, trying his best to get the most out of the yordle possible.

"Long story. Once he wakes up, I'm sure that you'll figure it out for yourself." he said. Now he couldn't help but look over at Teemo. "We've known each other for a long time. Me, him, and Tristana."

"You know Tristana too?" Garen questioned.

"Yeah." he said, looking down at the ground. Garen leaned to look at his face, his eyes drooping down holding back his emotions. He gave a sniffle.

"Hey, are you ok?" Garen asked, putting his hand on the yordles back.

"Yeah… yeah." the yordle said, regaining his composure. He now sat straight and looked at Garen.

"I'm sorry." he confessed. "I didn't know who you were when I threw the bomb. I couldn't see through rain and when I finally came up and saw Teemo and Tristana both laying on the ground…" his emotions quickly caught up to him again, leaving him to bury his face in his hands. Garen this entire time did not know what to think. He confessed he was the attacker but it was unintentional.

After a while, the yordle lifted his head up from his hands, leaving his eyes a little bloodshot.

"My name is -"

"Kennen."

A voice from behind him became present. It was Teemo. He was sitting up and staring at the yordle, Kennen was his name. Kennen flinched hearing his voice behind him, turning around to meet contact with his eyes. His stern, blue eyes made contact with Kennen's brown eyes. Both of them staring deep into each others eyes, into each others souls for a long while.

"Teemo." Kennen said hesitantly, still looking at Teemo.

Teemo's eyes left his for a brief second, looking over at Tristana. He put his hand on her chest, thankfully feeling a pulse.

"You're lucky." Teemo said sternly. "You could've killed one of us." He remade eye contact with Kennen.

Kennen didn't say anything, instead repressing his inner emotions rather than fully expressing them yet. Maintaining locked eyes with Teemo the air changed around them, going perfectly still. There was no more breeze anymore and the world seemed to quiet around them, focusing on the intense staring battle between Teemo and Kennen. Teemo closed his hands, balling them into a tight fist.

"Who said you could use my mushrooms?" Teemo asked not angrily, noticing Garen eating them.

"I didn't think you would mind." Kennen said, taking a deep breath before he got up and moved back to the campfire, Teemo's eyes on him the entire time. Kennen took a seat on the log he was sitting on before, knowing that Teemo's eyes were still on him. He didn't look back at him however. Instead he seemed to be shaky at Teemo's gaze. He hunched himself, shakily fiddling with his hands. Teemo let out a sigh. He put his hands at his side attempting to push himself up only to be met with the realization that he was still injured. He stumbled backwards, landing back on the ground.

"You're still injured." Kennen said laughing under his breath, looking over at Teemo.

"Thanks, I didn't notice." Teemo said sarcastically, regaining himself. Dusting off the the dirt on his arm he felt the gaze of Kennen fall upon him. He didn't regain eye-contact, not wanting to stare into his eyes.

Kennen noticed this, looking away after a while. Deep in thought he kept his head cocked sideways for a while, biting his lower lip. After a while Kennen sprang up from where he was sitting, standing straight up and walked over to where Teemo was sitting. Teemo did not look at him, but knew that Kennen was now standing close to him. Sighing, Kennen sat down next to Teemo on the damp soil. Teemo's back was to Kennen, denying his presence there. Kennen stayed looking at him, longing to gather the courage to do something. After a while, Kennen did something that Teemo did not expect. Teemo was startled when Kennen leaned his back up against Teemo's so that the two were sitting back to back.

"What are you doing?" Teemo asked trying to sound dominant but didn't come out well.

"Trying my best to not avoid you, no matter how much my mind wants me to." Kennen said, eyes closed.

"Kennen…" Teemo said, sounding worried. Teemo pushed himself against Kennen now, weighing himself against Kennen's weight keeping himself up straight. Slowly, Teemo leaned his head backwards, the back of his head now touching Kennen's. Kennen let this happen, now both furry heads straight up.

Garen was sitting and observing this entire time, not knowing what to think of the situation. He couldn't yet tell if they were friends or enemies. Nonetheless it was a sight for him. The two obviously had some sort of a connection between them, Garen couldn't tell what from. Kennen looked over to remember that Garen had been there that entire time.

"So," Kennen started. "Teemo hasn't told you about us has he?"

"Stop!" Teemo said. "I don't want him to know about us."

"Well it's only a matter of time now, you know Tristana can't hide this once she knows I'm here." Kennen said smirking.

"I will make her not tell anyone!" Teemo yelled.

"Yeah, because that will work."

"It will!" Teemo said again loudly, less confident however knowing that he was true. Tristana couldn't not gossip about them.

"Teemo." Kennen said in a soft voice. "You can't keep hiding me forever, even if this is the first time I've seen you in a year."

"I know I can't keep hiding you!" Teemo clarified. "It's just… I've been wanting to shove you out of my mind, but how much you are to me is too much…" Teemo hesitated, not wanting to reveal too much in front of Garen.

"How much I mean to you…" Kennen said quietly, voice quivering. He hung his head, closing his eyes for a long time. Teemo stayed there, not feeling his fur touch the back of his head anymore. Only feeling the small shaking Kennen was making as he sobbed quietly to himself. After a while, Kennen hung his head back up, leaning his head against Teemo's heavily, pushing him forward a bit.

"I'm sorry… about that day." Kennen said sadly.

"Let's not get into that now." Teemo said. He could feel Kennen's head nod against his.

"Kennen!" a voice yelled from the side. Them and Garen looked over finding the surprised face of Tristana looking at them with big eyes, the blue being illuminated by the crackling fireplace. Her face slowly turned into a smile the more she looked at Kennen.

"Hey Trist." Kennen said coyly, looking at her. He stood up now, standing there awkwardly.

Fast, she got up from where she was standing. The explosion still left her stumbling, but from this moment she managed to stand without falling. Slowly Kennen watched as Tristana made waddled her way towards him, only to be surprisingly met by her arms wrapping around him rather than a slap on the face. It was a quick hug, releasing as she quickly noticed Teemo was watching them.

"Holy crap!" Tristana exclaimed. She looked between the two, soon waving her arms between the two looking flustered. Kennen caught her when she eventually leaned back too much almost falling over. She then looked over at Garen who was just sitting there watching.

"Do you know what happened between-"

"NOPE!" both Teemo and Kennen yelled, interrupting her mid sentence. They both shot a quick glance at each other.

"Later Tristana." Teemo said letting out a deep sigh.

"Oh…" Tristana said, sounding slightly disappointed but understood where he was coming from. "So what happened exactly?" Tristana asked after a moment of silence.

"What do you think happened?" Teemo said shooting a look at Kennen. Kennen just looked into Teemo's eyes, not responding. Tristana noticed Teemo's anger, but felt his emotion towards Kennen.

"Oh I know, we got blown up! Yeah that's what happened!" Tristana said sarcastically, looking at Teemo angrily. She turned her gaze to Kennen. "So Kennen, what did actually happen?"

"I love how she automatically assumes it's me." Kennen mumbled, putting his head on his fist.

"What was that?" Tristana said, now getting more angry. She held her hand up to ear, leaning towards Kennen.

"You know what happened Trist! Kennen attacked us!" Teemo yelled at her. Kennen was now gritting his teeth, squeezing his eyes harder.

"Guys - !" Garen tried to step in.

"STOP" Kennen outbursts, gaining everyone's attention. "I don't need to put up with your guys' bullcrap! Not after this! Not after then! Not after everything! This is the first time I've seen you in a year and this is what I get! Not even a hello!? Just THIS!" Kennen yelled very loudly, putting his hands up by his head in frustration. They all stared at the angry Kennen in shock of his outburst. Kennen's eyes passed through all of them, awaiting a response but not getting any. After a while he let his arms fly down beside him, turning and walking over to the trunk of the tree. He slowly ran his hands over the rough and chunky bark, damp from the rain. Then quickly Kennen chambered his arm and punched the tree as hard as he could. He left his fist there for a moment absorbing all the tree had to give him gritting his teeth at the impact; slowly he pulled back revealing a small dent in the tree and scrapes sticking through his fur, small patches of red now staining his fur.

"Do you know what I felt like when I saw all of you lying on the ground?" Kennen turned around with a shaky voice and tears falling out of his eyes. "DO YOU!"

No response.

"At that moment I wanted to die!" Kennen said slowly. "I wanted to die so I could be with you, thinking I just killed you! But when I pressed my hand upon your heart, Teemo's heart, my storm ended and stars began to show again!" Kennen walked back over to the fireplace throwing himself on to the ground, covering his eyes with his palms. Throughout everyone else, who had just witnessed one of the biggest outbreaks Kennen had ever had, all had one feeling in common. Guilt.

"What's going on?" a newly awakened voice asked. Garen, Teemo, and Tristana looked over to see Lux sitting up, rubbing her eyes waking herself from her sleep. She removed her hands to find Tristana holding her palm out to her. Confused, she looked around noticing her friends and brother to be deep engulfed with guilt. She then looked over towards Kennen, the yordle unknown to her, sobbing on the ground.

"Who's he?" Lux asked quietly. Tristana kept her hand raised towards her, signalling her to stand down.

"Is someone going to help him?" Lux asked now a bit louder, surprising Kennen by her boldness. If only she knew what had happened between them before. Lux looked between them, finding herself disheartened when she didn't get a response. She looked over at Kennen, heartbroken seeing him crying.

"Guys! Please!" she pleaded. Still no response. Kennen sat up, tears welling in his eyes as he curled himself into a ball. Lux stared at him, broken by his sadness and the willingness of her friends. Lux's hair blew in the wind, feeling a light sprinkle of water fall upon her. She looked up into the starry night, finding no clouds above her but still a small sprinkle of water dotted her face. She looked at the others, also noticing it looking up towards the sky. The only ones who knew what was happening was Teemo and now Lux, as she felt his pain.

Tears of the Tempest.

Through the tears, Lux stood on her two feet. Unlike the others she was steady, not wobbling as her emotions took over her wanting to make a difference. Standing straight she turned herself towards Kennen. Slowly she took the first step toward him, crunching the grass beneath her feet. With every step she could feel the air around her changing, feeling more cold, more heavy. She observed aspect of him, his silky ninja garb, the golden lacing, his pointy ears, eventually getting close enough to see his bloodshot chocolate eyes along with the dried up remains of the trail of tears below his eyes. She knelt down next to him, giving him a look of concern and feeling. Kennen didn't look at her.

"Hi." Lux started, sounding soft and comfortable towards him. "What's your name?" she asked. No response came, however she could feel the atmosphere around her become ever so warmer.

"My name's Lux." she said after a while of silence. "I'm Garen's sister."

Once again, no response.

"I know how you're feeling." Lux said. This got his attention; he turned his head to look at her. The same attraction caught him, the same one that caught everyone else. Just like them he became entranced in her eyes, the beauty and the promise in them. The light.

"I know that you know." he said finally. "You look like the person who would know, however I can tell that unlike me your life has been recently filled up with joy." he hung his head back down in shame. However his body became warm when he felt Lux's hand on his back comforting him.

"Whatever that has happened between you and them," she motioned her head towards Teemo and Tristana, both of which were listening intently. "I'm sure that we can fix it."

"It's not fixable," Kennen clarified "and you wouldn't be able to help. It's between me and Teemo."

"I'm sure it is, but it doesn't mean that I can't be your friend." Lux said. Kennen turned his head back to hers regaining the sight of her eyes, reminding himself of the life, joy, and happiness in the world. Kennen couldn't help but smile at her words, the meaning it was to him to gain a new friend in a time of need.

"I'm Kennen." he told Lux.

"Kennen. That's a beautiful name." Lux said smiling. Kennen blushed, now smiling a bit too hard at her kindness. Suddenly, a look of question glanced over Lux's face.

"What's with the ninja outfit?" she asked childishly.

"What do you think?" Kennen asked back, leaving Lux with a proud smile on her face. "I'm part of the Kinkou Order."

"The Kinkou?" Garen now said surprised. The Kinkou was an ancient clan originating in Ionia, its soul purpose was to preserve the balance of nature. They were the bodyguards, the saviors, the reason why everything in Valoran existed in harmony.

"Yes." Kennen said, now turning to face the rest of them. His eyes weren't red anymore and the tears before evaporated.

"Where are the others?" Garen asked, maybe a little bit too bluntly.

"Yeah, where are Shen and Akali? Aren't they supposed to be with you?" Teemo now spoke up.

"They were. Until something very unexpected came up." Kennen said, now sounding a little bit uncomfortable but reassured by Lux's presence.

"What do you mean?" Tristana asked.

"We encountered something that… we've never seen before. We ended up getting separated. This was about a week ago." he trailed off "But it's a long subject. I will tell you about it later. For now you should get some rest. We can talk tomorrow."

* * *

_Day 6_

It was commanding. The way they took the lead immediately after they had woke up, the way that they planned, their communication towards each other and everyone else. It was if it was not only a mission for Teemo anymore, but also for Kennen. They were both similar but different, making for interesting interactions with each other. Both of them were commanding, Teemo definitely more serious now after last night than before. The meeting with Kennen had set Teemo in a different mood. Every time they talked it seemed like a normal conversation, but there was a connection between them that made their conversations special. The way both of them were cautious of what to say to the other, the way that they looked at each other, the way they walked side by side in the lead.

There was no clear path in which they were walking in. Actually they were walking aimlessly, not really knowing why or where they were walking. It was all of a sudden that they were to head out from the shade of the giant tree. As they were wavering between the trees they kept a steady pace, however the trek was quiet. The only things audible were their footsteps and the small breeze in the air, softly rattling the leaves of the normal trees around them. Teemo and Kennen kept a strict lead in the front, both walking side by side. Behind them were Tristana, Lux and Garen. Lux looking over noticed Tristana having a nervous look on her face just from looking at the two in the front. They were like two army captains leading a cavalry into battle. Their heads were both held high, position upright, and walking with confidence. Their arms close were together, but not both of them cautious of not touching their arms together. But the feeling was there, the certain feeling, the certain temptation. After a long while of no talking, Lux leaned over to Tristana.

"What's with it with them?" Lux whispered to her while walking. Kennen's ear perked up a bit. Tristana noticed.

"Shh!" Tristana said urgently. "He's a ninja, remember!" she said worryingly.

Lux looked at her with a confused expression on her face before realizing what she meant.

"He's a ninja, of course. He can hear anything, right?" Lux thought sarcastically to herself.

The fact that this yordle was a ninja surprised Lux, but the emotions that he displayed last night caught Lux's attention greatly. Since then she has taken great interest in Kennen, and still had so many questions to ask him. Even though it has been two days since she has met Teemo and Tristana, less for Kennen, Lux felt for them. She felt their emotions whether they be right or not for their reason. Lux looked back in front of her, continuing to see Teemo walking steadily.

Teemo?

"Woah." Lux exclaimed as she bumped into something in front of her. She recoiled a bit, almost tripping over the standing figure of Kennen who had stopped walking. He was just standing there, looking in front of him, looking at Teemo.

"Sorry Kennen." Lux apologized.

"It's fine." Kennen said quietly. Teemo, hearing the commotion, turned around, locking eyes with Kennen whom he had just noticed looking at him.

"Kennen, are you ok?" Teemo asked.

The look of nervousness in Kennen's face scared Teemo, knowing what he was about to do. Kennen took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Teemo, can I speak with you… alone for a while." Kennen said slowly.

Teemo looked at Kennen and didn't respond. Only looked into his eyes and feeling the wind rustle the leaves around them. The sun just peaked over Kennen's face, leaving a shadow behind him and his face fully visible to him. Strength, courage. That was what it took to ask, and that it what he saw when he looked at him.

Slowly, Teemo began to nod.

"Yeah…" Teemo said slowly.

Kennen nodded. They both turned and started their way off into the forest, leaving Tristana, Garen, and Lux to wait. Lux watched as the silhouettes of Teemo and Kennen disappeared between the trees.

"Holy crap!" Tristana exclaimed after they were gone. She turned to Garen and Lux. "You have no idea how stressful this is for me."

"I may have an idea if you tell us what's going on." Garen said, becoming impatient that they had avoided the question before sometime. Tristana looked between them, then slowly regained her composure.

"Ok." she said finally. "I guess it's time for me to tell you the story of Teemo and Kennen."

* * *

The sun made the day beautiful, fully enveloping the forest around them. It made everything brighter, calmer, and warmer. Although it was a pretty dense forest, Teemo and Kennen had managed to to find a field in the middle of the forest right over the sun. The bright patch of solid green grass made this the perfect location for this moment.

Kennen trailed a bit behind Teemo as they entered the field. Both of their faces showed no emotion, only serious thoughts on their minds as they crossed paths. There was one flower that bloomed in the middle of the field. A red flower, pretty in the sunlight but alone. Teemo knelt down next to the flower, observing it. A flower that was meant for a bouquet shined in Teemo's eyes. The grace entailed in it, the beauty. Teemo gripped the stem of it and gently pulled it from the ground, leaving it limp in his hand. He stood up, holding the flower like a dead body, then released his grip with his left hand, grasping it with his right hand as he let his hand fall to his side. Kennen was observing this and also noticed the flower , feeling the same thing that Teemo did. Calmly, he took a step forward, noticing Teemo move slightly at his movement.

"Teemo, I'm -" Kennen began.

However his sentence was cut off when quickly and instinctively Teemo turned around and surprised Kennen by slipping his arms around his shoulders, pulling Kennen closer to him. Before Kennen knew it, his face was over Teemo's shoulder and Teemo's head was resting on his shoulder. Teemo embraced him.

"Can you shutup and let me savor this one moment we have alone together." Teemo said quietly, voice almost quivering at the moment. Kennen took reaction to this, favoring Teemo's wishes. He closed his eyes and let the time go as slowly as he could, allowing both him and Teemo to grasp the moment. Without noticing it himself, Kennen wrapped his arms around Teemo's waist, now both yordles hugging each other. It was affectionate, both of them leaning into it a bit. Not because they were forced to, but because they wanted to, they wanted a moment like this. A moment where they could be alone, away from the others, to finally comprehend each other. After what seemed like an hour Teemo pulled away, still grasping his shoulders. They looked into each others eyes, both wide, Teemo's eyes pooled tears.

"Come Kennen. We have so much to talk about."

* * *

**So those of you who read alot of fanfiction and have read the "Winning the Heart of the Tempest" fanfic that I shouted out last chapter, you probably already know where this is going. Yes, this is a TeemoXKennen. For those of you who don't agree I'm sorry, I'm a pretty big fan of it so I'm trying to represent it in my own way. Don't worry though. Not all of this story is going to be TeemoXKennen. There will be more along the line that I'm sure you guys won't mind. ALSO THE MAIN CHARACTER HERE IS STILL LUX, DON'T GET YOUR MINDS OFF OF THAT ;). Anyways, like I said, I haven't really explored emotion much and that's what I'm trying to get better at, so any feedback would be much appreciated. If you enjoy the story, keep reading, follow it, favorite it. Thanks guys :). **


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